1 Chapter 1

Ophelia ran through the streets of Baltimore, carrying her two year old child in her arms.

"Ms. Luciana! Get back here at once!" Old Mrs. Nelson, the owner of Young Ones Orphanage cried, attempting to chase after Ophelia.

Ophelia was shocked when police arrived on the scene, but she continued to run, regardless of how many people were after her. She just couldn't afford to stop. She refused to go back to the orphanage.

Ophelia turned into an alley. pushing people to the side along the way. She found a large box off to the left and hurriedly climbed inside. She waited until she heard the sound of the cops yelling fade into the distance. Ophelia began to climb out of the box, but she dove back in as soon as she heard footsteps coming toward her. The person stopped right in front of the crate.

"Hey," said a voice. "That's my box."

Ophelia slowly got out of the box, glancing at the person who had spoken. It was a dark-skinned girl with bright gold eyes that contrasted Ophelia's sky blue ones. The girl's hair was a jet black that rivaled the night sky

"I don't see your name on it," Ophelia sneered.

"That's 'cause I ain't got one," the girl answered.

"Wow, you must have really been loved by your parents," Ophelia said sarcastically. She immediately realized what she had said, her stomach twisting in guilt.

The girl's lip quivered for a few seconds, but she brushed it off.

"You too, that's why you're stealing another girl's home. And is that a child you got there? How old are you? Anyway, you must have really been sleepin' around in your tween years."

Ophelia felt a rush of rage scone through her.

"Shut up!" She yelled. "I was- he... n-nevermind. You know what, I don't have time to talk to an idiot who doesn't even have a name. And by the way, you don't need to know my age, because with any luck, this will be the last time I ever see you."

The girl looked hurt again.

"Just get away from my box," the girl said coldly, striding past Ophelia with a blank expression on her face, her hands balled into fists.

Ophelia began to walk away. She stopped, realizing that perhaps the girl was in a similar situation to her. She couldn't leave her that way.

"14," she said, her back still turned to the girl. I'm 14."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ophelia saw the girl smile.

"Hey, why don't you stay just a little bit longer. It'll be dark soon. Wouldn't want you to get pneumonia or anything."

This caused Ophelia to turn around.

"Fine," she said.

They started a small fire in the alley as soon as it got dark, but they were constantly checking around to see if anyone was coming.

Ophelia warmed her hands over the fire. The girl was pacing.

"Hey," Ophelia said shyly. "Mind if I give you a name? You know, just so I don't have to refer to you as 'random chick' all night."

"Sure. I don't see why not."

"How about Kathika? It means bestower of courage. Plus, I could call you Kathy. I mean, just for tonight because I'm leaving tomorrow and never looking back."

"I like it. But I've been meaning to ask you something. How do you have a kid if you're 14?"

"It's kind of a long story," Ophelia replied.

"I got time."

"Ok, fine," Ophelia sighed. "It all started at school. There was this boy."

"Ooh," Kathy said, sitting down so Ophelia could spill the tea. "And what about this boy?"

"No, it wasn't like that. We were just friends. One day, I went to his house, where his dad was having a party with a bunch of his friends. The two of us played games and watched movies. You know, the normal friend stuff. But that all changed when his father asked if he could speak with me in private. I agreed, since I assumed that he was just going to tell me to quiet down or something. What the boy's dad did next, I'll never forget. He brought me to his room. His friends were there, and they- they," by this time, tears were rolling down Ophelia's face. She wiped them away. "There was nothing I could do. The room was soundproof. My friend couldn't hear my screams. Next thing I know, I'm pregnant. To this day I still don't know which one is the father. I assume it was one of the ones with the green eyes, since Ríona, my daughter, has such beautiful green eyes."

"Ríona is such a beautiful name. By the way, I never caught yours."

"Oh, right. I'm Ophelia."

"So, where are you going tomorrow?" Kathika inquired.

"Places," Ophelia answered.

"Places? What kind of places?"

"You know, places. Places I gotta be and places I don't have to tell anybody about. And that includes you, princess nosy," Ophelia said sarcastically.

"Princess nosy? Is that the best you got? Ya idiot."

"Hardly, jerk."

"Oh, nice. Real mature."

She looked down at her bare wrist, pretending to check a watch. Oh, well, would you look at the time? It's getting late. We should probably go to sleep."

"Alright," Ophelia laughed. "But won't it be cold? How will we keep warm?"

"Well, the way I see it, we have two options. Option one: we could keep the fire going and risk getting caught, or option two: we could huddle together to keep warm."

"Both options suck, but I'll take the cops over you any day."

Kathika shrugged. "Fair enough."

And with that, they went to sleep around the fire, Ophelia holding Ríona tightly, totally unaware of the stranger lurking in the shadows.